H1:Marcus Allen-The Model Raider

Marcus Allen came out of USC with a lot of publicity. In 1981 he had won the Heisman with one of the greatest college performances of all time.  In his senior season, Allen rushed for 2342 yards and 22 touchdowns. He would eventually be drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders. In his rookies season Marcus Allen won the Rookie of the Year, rushing for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 3 touchdown passes. Allan was truly a double threat at the halfback position. At one point Al Davis wanted him switched to a wide receiver because he had such good hands. Allen could also drop back; during his career he threw six touchdowns. In 1982 Allen helped the Raiders win a super both over the favored Washington Redskins. That year Washington seemed unbeatable, they had broke the record for points scored in a season, that season the Redskins were plus 42 in the turn over differential.  Let’s just say that the Raider’s won in spectacular fashion. Allen scored a 74 yard touchdown that put the game out of reach, and the Raiders went on to win 38-9. Allen had one of the greatest Super Bowl rushing performances of all time; rushing for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns. Allen would go on to win the MVP in  1985, as he led the league with 1,759 rushing yards on 380 carries for a 4.6 yards per carry average and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 67 passes for 555 yards and scored an additional three touchdowns. There was still some dissension on the team between owner Al Davis and Marcus Allen. Davis drafted Bo Jackson, one of the finest backs to ever come from college. Allen played fullback for Bo Jackson for four years before Bo Jackson blew out his knee and never played football again. Allen would take back seat to other running backs that would come in, from Roger Craig to Erik Dickerson. At one point Allen was 4^th on the depth chart. There was a period of 4 years when Allen rarely ever saw the field. Al Davis didn’t want Allen to play because Davis said that Allen thought he was bigger than the Raiders. Allen was awarded the “Commitment to Excellence Award”, which is voted on by teammates.  At the end of the 1992 season Allen was released by the Los Angeles Raiders and he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raider’s biggest rivals. Allen Played six season there before retiring 1997. He still had that greatness because he had not played a lot in the earlier seasons. Marcus Allen finished his NFL career with 121 rushing touchdowns most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. To this day Marcus Allen still doesn’t know why Al Davis began to hate him and Allen will probably never know. Marcus Allen may not have been the fastest person in NFL history, but on the field he looked so smooth and fluid.